


Lover's Eye Locket

by godseph



Series: 12 Days of Final Fantasy [3]
Category: Final Fantasy VIII
Genre: Christmas fic, F/M, Fluff, Love Confessions, Rinoa and Squall confess their love via gifts, Secret Santa, Zell is alone, i don't know what to do with her character, ms. trepe is barely in this sorry, sorry - Freeform, this is short
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:55:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28084287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/godseph/pseuds/godseph
Summary: Rinoa, Selphie, Squall, Zell, and Irvine spend Christmas together. Short but sweet :)(p.s.i know i said yall would never get anything longer than a poem but my 12 days series is the only exception to that rule and then we'll be back to our irregularly scheduled content.)
Relationships: Rinoa Heartilly/Squall Leonhart, Zell Dincht & Squall Leonhart, minor Selphie Tilmitt/Irvine Kinneas - Relationship
Series: 12 Days of Final Fantasy [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2053293
Kudos: 1





	Lover's Eye Locket

**Author's Note:**

> i do not own anyone or anything from square enix. this work is non-profit.

Squall, despite his grumpy demeanor, liked the holidays. He hadn’t really known his parents well enough to spend the holidays with him, but the team he had gave him a fresh start at one. It was Selphie’s idea to throw a holiday bash, but he hadn’t loathed it. Especially when Rinoa took his hands into hers and gazed at him like she was about to melt in his grasp, pleading him to go. He couldn’t deny her, or the flush that rose to his cheeks when she smiled and rubbed circles into the backs of his hands. When she left, he took a long walk out in the cold. Selphie had told the group that they would do a secret Santa, so none of them knew who was shopping for who until the day of. Squall had Rinoa to shop for, which he had done successfully just days prior. His current predicament, however, was what he should wear. He normally wouldn’t care, but he wanted to look his best when he gave Rinoa her gift. Irvine told everyone that there would be mistletoe as a heads up, and despite everyone’s protests, that they should be sure to have mints on hand for the occasion. Squall settled for brushing every square inch of his mouth and chewing spearmint gum whilst getting dressed. 

He looked down at the two outfits he had laid out on the ground and shifted his weight from foot to foot. On one hand, he could go full-on festive and wear the Christmas sweater that Quistis had gifted him one year as a joke paired with some white skinny jeans and a reindeer headband with little bells on it, or he could wear a plain black long sleeve with black acid wash straight fit jeans. Both were to be worn with some Christmas tree socks and his typical combat boots. He took his phone off of his desk and snapped a picture of each outfit, forwarding it to Quistis. She decided to not come to the gathering, as she was spending it with her fiance, Seifer. He got a reply almost two seconds later. 

“Go the Christmas sweater route. Rinoa and everyone else seems to be.” 

He slipped off his white tank top and shrugged on the Christmas sweater, adorned in green tinsel in the shape of a tree with little flashing lights in a variety of colors. The sweater itself was made from red yarn, which was surprisingly comfortable. He tugged on the white jeans, slipped on the headband, and made for the door. When he was in his car, he struggled with the socks and shoes, but eventually got them on with no issue. As he started up the vehicle, he looked in the rearview mirror to check if Rinoa’s gift was still where he left it, in his backseat. 

He was greeted by Zell upon his arrival with a clap to his back and a warm smile. 

“Hey man! How’ve you been? We were waiting for you to show up.” Zell waited for Squall to finish grabbing his gift from the backseat before walking in with him. The warm scent of hot chocolate hit him when he walked through the front door of Irvine and Selphie’s shared home. 

“I’ve been good. How are you and you know who?” Squall asked, kneeling down to unlace his boots. 

“Oh, we’ve been good! Glad you asked, it’s unfortunate he couldn’t come, though.” The taller man frowned but shrugged it off. Zell had come dressed in a Santa suit, minus the beard and hat. When he was finished unlacing his boots, he set them by the door and walked towards the living room where the finely decorated Christmas tree sat, surrounded by gifts. He felt a gentle tap on his shoulder. 

“Um, Squall, there’s a separate mini-tree for the secret Santa gifts,” Rinoa told him. 

“Oh, thanks.” He walked briskly towards the smaller, less fancy tree and set his gift beside it. Selphie grinned and waved at him, while Irvine tipped his hat and smiled. 

“Great to see you, Leonhart.”

“Yeah! I’m surprised Rin got you to come. I know this isn’t really your thing, but I hope you have fun. We have more stuff planned than just the secret santa exchange.” Selphie told him, handing him a glass of what he hoped was non-alcoholic hot chocolate. 

“Rinoa, are you gonna drink any?” He asked, after taking a sip. It didn’t seem spiked, so he decided that he would be okay to drink more. 

“Yeah, in a bit. What’s it taste like?” She asked in return, taking the cup from his arms and taking a small sip. He didn’t want to notice the lipstick stain she left on the rim of the cup. He took a second or two to take in Rinoa’s outfit, which was vastly different from her usual attire. She donned an ugly Christmas sweater that had a dog on it. In bold white letters, there was the words ‘Dachshund through the snow’ sprawled across the upper half. The dog itself was running through the snow with a blue hat and scarf on. She also wore a skirt that flared out a few inches above her knees, as well as some red and green knee-high socks. An utter eyesore, but she made it look cute. Her lipstick was a burgundy, which paired well with her eyeshadow, being a tint of gold on her eyelids. 

“Hm, no alcohol this time. Tastes pretty good though.” She commented, licking a bit of leftover cocoa off of her lips. She smiled up at Squall and handed his glass back, which he absent-mindedly took. 

“Yeah, it’s nice. You look lovely, by the way.” Squall tried to keep eye contact and slipped one hand into his pocket, shifting his weight to one leg. 

“Oh, uh, thank you.” Rinoa blushed softly at his words, “You look nice as well.” She gave him a shy smile. 

“Jesus fuckin’ Christ, just kiss already,” Irvine murmured to Zell, who stood beside him in the kitchen. Zell snorted and sipped chocolate from his own cup. Squall overheard and shot a glare at the two of them, who burst out in a giggle fit. Selphie decided that now would be as good as a time as ever to do the gift exchange. 

“Y’all, it’s gift exchange time! Stop flirting and get over here.” Selphie called out, her high pitched voice catching everyone’s attention. Everyone gathered and grabbed their respective gifts, the air much lighter than it was before. 

“I’ll go first, yeah?” Selphie suggested, and turned to Zell, handing him a small, square box wrapped in plaid green and red wrapping paper. He tore it open and admired the new set of gloves. Mirth claws, like the ones he had seen at a shop back in Midgar. 

“Awe thanks, Selph!” He smiled and gave her a side hug. Zell slipped them on and admired how they look and feel on his hands, putting his old ones in his back pocket. Zell tossed a rectangular box towards Irvine, who just barely caught it with an ‘oomph’. As he opened the messily wrapped box, he smiles a toothy grin in Zell’s direction. He picks up the new, shiny shotgun and pointed it at the wall opposite them, feeling the weight of it in his hands. 

“Thanks, man. It’s great.” Irvine clapped Zell hard on the back. 

Rinoa grabbed a small square box with the initials ‘S.L.’ written over the white and red wrapping paper. She handed it to Squall, tucking her hands behind her back and keeping her eyes glued to his face. Squall in turn set his cocoa down, taking the box in one hand and giving her the small bag he brought with him. 

“At the same time, yeah?” He suggested, smiling down at her. She nodded, and they simultaneously start unwrapping their gift. His heart stopped when he sees a thick titanium band, with the words “I love you” engraved on the inside, and “Rinoa” engraved on the outside. He glanced up at her, his mouth agape. 

Rinoa took the tissue paper from the bag and set it aside, taking the small box out of the bag and opening it with haste. She lifted a small locket, with a painting of an eye on it, slightly off of the cushion it rested upon. She recognized it as Squall’s eye. Rinoa had talked about her love of lover’s eye lockets before, but not to Squall. She flipped the cushion over, hoping to take the locket fully out, but is met with a piece of paper that has his handwriting on it. 

‘To Rinoa, the girl who I never knew I was chasing but was always right in front of me.’ 

She brought her teary-eyed gaze up to meet Squall’s, her lower lip trembling. He set the box that held the ring down and cupped her face in his hands, pulling her into a nervous kiss. Rinoa let her eyes flutter shut, a few tears escaping. She wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning into his kiss. She felt him smile on her lips and pulled back for a moment to speak. 

“Would you mind putting this on me?” Rinoa asked, referring to the necklace. He nodded silently as she handed him the box. He took out the locket and chain, moving behind her and clasping it around her neck. She moved her hair out from under the small, thin chain and admired the locket from its place on her chest. She watched as he slipped the ring on his right hand’s ring finger. He smiled at it, and then up at her. 

“Thank you, Rinoa. You are the best gift I could have asked for.” He spoke, his tone soft and sincere. She moved one hand up to stroke his cheek. 

“I could say the same for you, Squall.” He took her other hand in his, intertwining their fingers. 

“Aww, y’all are so cute, it warms my heart a little.” Irvine said, wiping a fake tear off of his face. He handed Selphie the gift he got for her and whispered something in her ear that made her turn a cherry red. Selphie cleared her throat, getting everyone’s attention. 

“Okay, that was a success. We’ll have to do that again next year. But for now, it’s movie time. Head downstairs, please!” The gang clambered down the stairs and into the spacious basement, which had a large couch in front of a TV that sat on a cherry wood entertainment center. Rinoa and Squall sat together on the sofa, leaning into each other. Zell sat on an armchair that was inches away from the couch, while Selphie and Irvine took the other half of the couch. Selphie navigated to Netflix and turned on How the Grinch Stole Christmas. 

A few minutes into the intro, Squall felt Rinoa’s breath slow. He noticed that she was starting to fall asleep, so he took her in his arms and moved her so her head was laying on his lap. He stared at her sleeping face and stroked her soft, dark hair. 


End file.
